Abstract

Abstract
Although new, renewed, and innovative museum experiences are constantly provided to the sighted public, millions of visually impaired persons worldwide are still deprived of access to enjoying and engaging with collections. This research aims to investigate the limitations of blind or partially sighted persons in visiting a museum nowadays. Semistructured interviews with seventy-two visually impaired Portuguese individuals revealed reasons and factors that contribute to positive and negative visiting experiences, and the assessment of sixteen accessibility resources demonstrates their frequency and potential usefulness in museum visits. It concludes that the actual limited experiences in museums could be surpassed and enhanced by moving beyond accessibility, embracing inclusion, and focusing on the creation of multimodal and multisensory approaches to promote exceptional, memorable, and exciting visiting opportunities for all.

Abstract
Training in VR can reduce risks and costs while allowing frequent and diversified experiential learning activities. We present a novel VR immersive authoring tool for experiential learning courses with industrial machinery. A trainer can create a course from scratch, defining all its components (structure, models, tools, and settings). The actions which trainees should perform can be specified by demonstration. After completing the course, trainees' actions will be matched against the trainer's.

Abstract
This paper aims to explore the impact of sense of presence and cybersickness on the users' expectancy and perceived similarity between virtual and the corresponding real environments. Two virtual reality setups were tested (non-immersive and immersive) to achieve further conclusions. This research encompassed a quantitative analysis using data collection based on questionnaires, applied to a sample of 45 participants. A virtual experience was conducted (to explore users' cybersickness and sense of presence), followed by a visit to the actual real sites (to determine the degree of perceived similarity between the virtual and the corresponding real environment and if their expectations were fulfilled). Our results show a positive correlation between the global sense of presence and perceived similarity and users' expectancy for the non-immersive VR setup. A positive correlation was also found between the global cybersickness on both perceived similarity and users' expectancy for the immersive VR setup. Implications of such results for virtual tourism are discussed.

Abstract
The use of VR in industrial training contributes to reduce costs and risks, supporting more frequent and diversified use of experiential learning activities, an approach with proven results. In this work, we present an innovative immersive authoring tool for experiential learning in VR-based training. It enables a trainer to structure an entire VR training course in an immersive environment, defining its sub-components, models, tools, and settings, as well as specifying by demonstration the actions to be performed by trainees. The trainees performing the immersive training course have their actions recorded and matched to the ones specified by the trainer.

Abstract
Computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D modeling are similar, but they have different functionalities and applications. CAD is a fundamental tool to create object models, design parts, and create 2D schematics from 3D designed objects that can later be used in manufacturing. Meanwhile, 3D modeling is mostly used in entertainment, to create meshes for animation and games. When there is the necessity of using real-life object models in game engines, a conversion process is required to go from CAD to 3D meshes. Converting from the continuous domain of CAD to the discrete domain of 3D models represents a trade-off between processing cost and visual accuracy, in order to obtain the best user experience. This work explores different methods for the creation of meshes and the reduction of the number of polygons used to represent them. Based on these concepts, an interactive application was created to allow the users to control how the model looks in the game engine, in a simple way, while also optimizing and simplifying the mapping of textures for the generated meshes. This application (CADto3D) generates accurate 3D models based on CAD surfaces while giving the user more control over the final result than other current solutions.